“ | Reality is the lifeblood that makes a work pulse with energy. Reality itself is entertainment! | ” |
—Rohan Kishibe |
- For a similar character, see Rohan Kishibe (The JOJOLands)
Rohan Kishibe (岸辺 露伴 Kishibe Rohan) is a major ally introduced in Diamond is Unbreakable. First featured as an antagonist, he cooperates in the search for Yoshikage Kira.
A successful professional mangakaW, Rohan is often roped into paranormal events while conducting research for his latest manga. He is a Stand User who uses his Stand, Heaven's Door, to transform others into books and read them for inspiration.
He is notable for being featured as the protagonist in a variety of spinoffs to the main JoJo story, including the series Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan; Rohan at the Louvre, and Rohan Kishibe Goes to Gucci.
Appearance
Rohan is a slim young man of average height. He has green hair that is styled in a slicked-sideways undercut. He has a well-sculpted face with sharp cheekbones and delicate eyebrows. While his eyes are green in the anime and animated OVAs, they notably are heterochromatic in the colorized manga OVAs, with the right being blue and the left gold. In these OVAs, he also wears lipstick. While his outfits regularly change, Rohan keeps his trademark headband that is jagged on both sides and sits on his crown. He also always wears dangly earrings that have manga pen tips at the ends. Manga pens are apparent in almost all his outfits, either as jewelry or the pattern of his clothes itself. His overall style is somewhat feminine and notably revealing. They are form-fitting and of unique designs, accompanied by some baggy article of clothing.
His first outfit sees him adorning a baggy suit and pants, over which he wears a semi-unbuttoned vest.
Personality
“ | Did you think the great Kishibe Rohan draws manga because he wants money?! I draw manga because I "WANT TO BE READ"! That's the one and only reason. I couldn't care less about anything else! | ” |
—Rohan Kishibe |
Rohan Kishibe is a passionate mangaka dedicated to his work, with a particularly abrasive personality but a good heart.
Rohan Kishibe is above all defined by his dedication to his work. With great draftsmanship talents, Rohan has constantly sought to make the best manga possible in order to keep being read. His wish to be read is so great it trumps any other motivation,[2] disdaining money or glory and feeling no need for kinship either.[5] When drawing, Rohan falls into an artistic trance, drawing with abandon and being distracted with great difficulty.[5] Because of his tremendous drawing skill, the one thing Rohan seeks the most is inspiration to fuel his work as everything else is an effortless formality.
To gain inspiration, Rohan is constantly seeking new experiences or facts, investigating anything he might find interesting with blatant disregard for common sense, politeness or the law, for instance buying a whole mountain range to preserve the living area of a supposed yokai and constantly prying into people's lives by turning them into books with his Heaven's Door.[6][7] Moreover, Rohan is overly curious, willingly throwing himself into strange adventures such as an unusual house sale or a poaching session. His inquisitiveness can turn obsessive and downright morbid as he had to be reigned in to stop harassing Koichi[8] and killed a spider just to taste its innards.[2] Nonetheless, Rohan considers "reality" to be the greatest inspiration, and looks for genuine material, disdaining fakes such as when Hazamada fakes throwing up.[2]
In addition to his own work, Rohan is an amateur of art in all its forms. He possesses movie goodies[9] artbooks and manga figures alike,[10] and considers that a visit to the museum to be a solemn occasion necessitating a proper outfit.[11]
Parallel to his artistic passion exists Rohan's general unpleasantness. First of all, Rohan is arrogant, being aware of his nearly superhuman skill as an artist. Thus he generally looks down on everyone else[5] and may only see people as possible material for his stories. However, he greatly respects Koichi for his courage and kindness.[8] He also respects Tonio as a chef, later acknowledging him as a friend.[12] Naturally, Rohan also hates being made a fool of, reacting with extreme dissatisfaction when Josuke cheated against him without him knowing how and cutting off his own finger as self-inflicted punishment.[13] Likewise, he didn't like that his editor Kyoka Izumi dismissed his idea for a one-shot.[14]
His arrogance is paired with his constant coarseness. While he may act with professional courtesy, Rohan is generally brash and impolite. Maintaining a thin veneer of civility, Rohan will usually make no secret of what he thinks of people which, combined with his arrogance, often earns him a mutual disdain with his interlocutors. Likewise, he also likes aggravating people he doesn't like, playing a game with Josuke with the declared intention to ruin him,[15] has also stated to liking put down people "in their place" by refusing their requests or orders[16] and is willing to tease or taunt an opponent. Rohan blatantly disregards courtesy for the sake of his goals, turning people into books on a whim and having at one point entered a confessional just to see the interior. But if he is disinterested, Rohan may also blatantly not remember an interlocutor's name such as Yukako Yamagichi at one point and distract himself while they talk.[17] He has also occasionally adopted a visible passive-aggressive behavior[9] and had no qualm punching an annoying Ken Oyanagi.[18]
Nonetheless, behind his eccentric and discourteous demeanor, Rohan is still a decent person. When he learned about how Reimi Sugimoto saved him, he took an active part in seeking her murderer in part to give Reimi closure.[19] He would also admit, with some persuasion, that he did like her and would miss her.[20] Although he looks down on people and clashes with them, he always defends their lives, ultimately saving Ken Oyanagi when the boy tried to commit suicide[21] and also saving the abrasive Kyoka Izumi from the gods of the mountains.[14] Moreover, Rohan's stubborn personality means that he also has an iron-clad moral standard, for instance refusing to let Josuke be attacked by Highway Star despite the Stand promising to free him and Josuke being the person Rohan hates the most[16]. Finally, Rohan steadfastly grants his fans autographs whenever they ask him, no matter the circumstances.[22]
Despite his arrogance, Rohan is mature enough to know that surpassing others is easier than surpassing oneself[23].
Portrayed as impressively narcissistic in his in-universe interviews prior to Part 4, Rohan believed that there was no greater person than he, lying in response to questions to make himself appear likeable to fans. However, he began to humble himself after the events of Part 4, seen admitting his possible defeat to Hermes, begging for an innocent woman's life and acknowledging people as friends he cares about. None the less, he himself knows that his egotistical personality gets him in trouble, and after defeating Hermes, he seems to be more wary of his arrogance.
Recent stories feature Rohan doing regular physical exercise to keep in shape.[22]
Abilities
Stand
- Main article: Heaven's Door
Heaven's Door enables Rohan to transmute people into "human books", with written pages unfurling from their bodies. These pages relate detailed information about that person, including biological characteristics, history, personality, or even details of their Stand and its abilities.
Rohan's Stand Heaven's Door was acquired when he was shot with the Arrow[2] and its nature likely originated from his zeal for drawing manga. Rohan states that compelling manga requires a quality that may only be drawn from reality, both for its sensory variety and the depth of experience that humans accumulate.[3]
Mastery
Heaven's Door simple yet exceptionally versatile power to transform people into books makes Rohan a formidable Stand User. There has been a noticeable shift in Rohan's mastery of his Stand as he initially required someone to look at a manga page to be transformed into a book, but then could draw his art in the air to trigger the effect and has recently been shown to only need a touch to turn targets into books. This shift has been stated as his own progress as a Stand User.[24]
Rohan liberally uses his power to write commands in people, but usually shows restraint and subtlety in writing said commands. He prefers using very specific orders to compel people into not doing one thing or performing a single task for him, but never more. As a manga artist, he frequently uses his power to pry into people's lives for inspiration, regardless of courtesy.
He can also use his power in unexpected ways as people are literally transformed into paper and take on paper's property. Thus, he can easily immobilize someone by turning articulations into paper and has transformed an obese man into paper that could unfold and fit between two speeding trains.
Dexterity, Draftsmanship
Rohan is an exceptionally talented draftsman, capable if he chooses of finishing manga pages of quality at superhuman speed. He can draw competently without construction lines and shade precisely simply by throwing ink drops with his pen. Such is his speed that he is able to do 19 pages in four days,[3] a feat he can easily surpass, as is noted when he still can meet the deadline for his manga during Made In Heaven's accelerated time, where time has hastened to the point that ink can dry before it gets to the paper.[25] Incidentally, his skill also gives him the necessary arm speed to draw a paper sheet off his desk even before Crazy Diamond can complete a punch. He was also able to throw pen nibs with such speed that they pierced Josuke's skin during their initial encounter.
Other
In Rohan Kishibe Goes to Gucci, Rohan inherits his deceased grandmother's Gucci bag, which possesses a Stand that allows its owner to hide items to be reobtained when in particular need. This section requires expansion.
One-Shot Spin-offs
Rohan has appeared in multiple one-shots, including:
- Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan, consisting of
- Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 16: At a Confessional
- Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 2: Mutsu-kabe Hill
- Rohan Kishibe Goes to Gucci
- Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 5: Millionaire Village
- Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 6: Poaching Seashore
- Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 4: The Harvest Moon
- Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 7: A Rainy Monday
- Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 8: Deoxyribonucleic Acid
- Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 9: The Run
- Rohan at the Louvre
- Rohan Au Louvre (film)
History
Early life
Rohan Kishibe was born in 1979, when he was young, he was often left at his babysitter's house, Reimi Sugimoto. During the night of August 13, 1983, his parents had an important thing to attend to and so Rohan was left with Reimi. He was saved by Reimi at the cost of her own life from the serial killer Yoshikage Kira, but was in shock and couldn't serve as a witness. He intentionally chose to not remember much of this life in his adult years.
At some point during his childhood, Rohan, while playing on the beach, fell onto some rocks and broke ribs on the left side of his body. Because of that injury, he experiences pain in that area if he finds himself wherever there is extremely low atmospheric pressure.[26] Eventually Rohan becomes a mangaka at the age of 16 and publishes his first work. Three months before the events of Diamond is Unbreakable he is shot with the Bow and Arrow by Keicho Nijimura gaining a Stand.[2]
Diamond is Unbreakable
Rohan first appears as an antagonist to Koichi and Toshikazu Hazamada when they go to his house for an autograph. After they try to sneak a peek of the new issue of his manga, he activates his Stand and prevents either of them from attacking him. He then reads their memories, and in doing so, finds out about Josuke Higashikata, Okuyasu Nijimura and others affiliated with the two. He decides to use Koichi and Hazamada as materials for his manga. After using Koichi as his personal "inspiration", Okuyasu and Josuke find out about where Koichi has been going by following him. Rohan attempts to take advantage of Josuke's sensitivity about his hair and force him to open his eyes and be subject to Heaven's Door, but this backfires when Josuke's anger prevents him from recognizing Heaven's Door in the manga, enabling him to pummel Rohan without restraint. Rohan's manga, Pink Dark Boy, is suspended for a month as a result of his defeat (though interestingly, Rohan was never shown to have been deformed from being punched by Crazy Diamond).
Upon leaving the hospital, Kishibe finds a lot of respect for Koichi, in whom he confides, and at the same time holds an extremely deep hatred towards Josuke. When Josuke finds an alien named Mikitaka Hazekura, he decides to play a dice game with Rohan, who soon finds out that Josuke is cheating and threatens to take off his little finger if he doesn't stop. However, Rohan is ultimately unable to prove Josuke's dishonesty when his house catches on fire in the middle of the game.
Rohan later encounters Stand user Ken Oyanagi and proceeds to play five matches of Rock, Paper, Scissors, almost losing his Stand in the process. After defeating him, he's attacked by Highway Star, who lures him into a room with a vision of Kira in a room cutting off a woman's hand. Later, he also encounters Masazo Kinoto, who harbors Cheap Trick on his back. After seeing Masazo's back, the Stand transmits himself to Rohan's back. Rohan eventually tricks Cheap Trick by taking him to the Ghost Alley and forces him to look backward. As several hundred disembodied hands grab Cheap Trick, Rohan inscribes on Cheap Trick that he will be dragged to Hell, even though Rohan himself does not know if it even exists.
During the final investigation of Yoshikage Kira's new identity, Rohan narrows it down to Kosaku Kawajiri after finding a suspicious photograph of Kosaku being tailed by his son, Hayato Kawajiri, holding a video recorder. Rohan manages to meet with Hayato and uses Heaven's Door to find out more about his father. As Rohan opens contents of Hayato's body book, he discovers a warning on Hayato's pages to not read further. Rohan eventually discovers that Kosaku is actually Yoshikage Kira in disguise. His excitement of this revelation is cut short when a miniature Killer Queen appears, revealing that Kira has unlocked a new Stand Ability, Bites the Dust. By discovering Kira's identity through Hayato, Bites the Dust marks Rohan. Wounded, Rohan feebly attempts to call out to Koichi and Jotaro who were just a few blocks away from him and is promptly killed by an explosion, which, coincidentally, reminded him of his first time with Josuke. Bites the Dust loops time back an hour and in the second version of the hour, Rohan is killed again as he was already marked by Bites the Dust in the previous time loop, despite not meeting Hayato in the current time loop. In the third and final time loop, Kira eventually is forced to deactivate Bites the Dust in order to protect himself when Josuke discovers his identity, sparing Rohan just seconds before his fate. Afterward, Rohan, accompanied by Jotaro and Koichi, joins the group in successfully cornering Kira. As Kira tries to use Bites the Dust in a desperate attempt to escape, the gang bears witness to his final moments, as an ambulance crushes the serial killer. Afterwords, Rohan and his comrades assemble to bid farewell to Reimi Sugimoto as she ascends to Heaven. Initially concealing his emotions, Rohan is compelled by Koichi to confess his affection for Reimi and acknowledge that he will miss her. Finally, Reimi departs for heaven, having achieved her goal.
(The information below derives from the TV Anime. As such, it may or may not be considered canonW.)
He is seen preparing to draw manga. He is later mentioned by Okuyasu, who states he heard a rumor about him being caught shoplifting at Kameyu store.
Post-Diamond is Unbreakable
Vento Aureo
He is briefly mentioned by Koichi, who revealed that Rohan used Heaven's Door to make it so Koichi could understand Italian for his trip.[27]
Stone Ocean
When Made in Heaven sped up time to the point where one work day lasted for less than 5 minutes, Rohan was mentioned as the only mangaka to continue to meet his weekly deadlines, easily publishing over 20 pages in less than an hours time without food or sleep. Rohan himself does not appear however, as it is mentioned over the radio.[25]
The Book: 4th Another Day
(The information below derives from a Light Novel not written by Araki. As such, it may or may not be considered canonW.)
Rohan appears drugging 34 cats to find out the one who invaded his house earlier, but forgets about the cat after finding Trinita covered in blood. Searching for his master with Koichi they find the corpse of Hanae Orikasa. Rohan uses his stand on Trinita and discovers that the killer has red marks on his arms, and so tags along with Koichi to find him.
Mutsu-kabe Hill
In order to research a YokaiW legend for his manga, Rohan buys six mountains to prevent a corporation from building a resort road in that area.
After meeting Naoko Osato on the mountains, Rohan uses Heaven's Door on her and discovers the story of her accidental murder of Gunpei Kamafusa, a gardener whose body never stopped bleeding and whom Naoko has been obliged to take care of since then. Suspecting him to be a yokai, Rohan investigates the region around Naoko's house until he comes across a young girl. The girl tells Rohan she's not allowed to talk to strangers and runs away, and when Rohan tries to catch her, the girl falls and hits her head on a rock, bleeding just like Gunpei. Rohan realizes this girl is actually Naoko's daughter with Gunpei. Surprised the man who became a corpse was able to impregnate Naoko despite being dead, Rohan soon realizes the girl is a yokai trying to possess him. He uses Heaven's Door and notices the girl's memories is starting to fade away because she is dying, so he quickly writes one last memory: "I don't know Rohan Kishibe. Even if I meet him, I won't see him". When the girl comes back she briefly shows her true form to Rohan but leaves after not seeing him. Saved, Rohan names the yokai Mutsukabezaka, and declares his research complete.
Rohan then meets with his editor Minoru Kaigamori and asks for an advance on his manuscript fees due to being bankrupt. The value of the land he bought became worthless since the plans for construction stopped. He has to live at Koichi's house and even had to sell all of his Sailor MoonW merchandise, Led ZeppelinW record sleeves and his Rurouni KenshinW volumes. His only remaining asset is a Nicolas de StaëlW artbook. His editor thinks he's crazy until Rohan explains what he discovered on his adventure.
Rohan at the Louvre
In 1996, at the age of seventeen, Rohan met a woman named Nanase Fujikura at the inn of his grandmother. Rohan becomes intrigued by her and attempts to use her as a model for his drawing. Nanase shows interest in his drawings and asks to read his work once he finishes it.
Days later, Nanase tells him the story of Nizaemon Yamamura, who created the "Under the Moon", which Nanase describes as "the darkest painting in the world." She leaves the room to answer her phone briefly, but when Rohan goes to check on her, she appeared to be crying about her divorce and goes running out of the house.
A week later, she returned and Rohan knocked on her door. She opened the door and embraced him while crying. Rohan attempts to show her his drawings of her, but she suddenly becomes enraged and begins stabbing the drawings. She runs away crying again, only this time she doesn't come back.
Years later, Rohan tells Josuke, Okuyasu, and Koichi about Nanase. He then decides to investigate the painting she told him and travels to Paris. There he discovers the painting is located at an abandoned section at the Louvre and asks to see it. Thinking it's strange there's a painting at an abandoned section and its archives being top secret, the interpreter Noguchi accompanies Rohan in there with Gaucher and two firefighters. When the group finds the painting they are attacked by a ghost mob of their relatives and everyone save Rohan is killed the same way the ghosts died. Rohan is almost killed by his grandmother, but the ghost of Nanase, who reveals that she was actually his ancestress, reveals to him the painting uses the memories of its victims. Thus, Rohan erases his memories with Heaven's Door, but not before writing a clue to recover it once he's outside of the Louvre. At the end, his four unfortunate companions are considered missing and Rohan discovers the painting was burned after being examined by scientists, even though he doubts it.
Rohan Kishibe Goes to Gucci
Rohan, accompanied by a beautiful interpreter, goes to a Gucci factory to investigate about his grandmother's treasured bag, that has the strange ability to vanish valuable things. He is informed by the leather goods artisan in charge that it is one of three bags created by a genius artisan from Gucci. Rohan asks for the bag to be fixed, even though the artisan tells him he doesn't understand the bag's true purpose. The interpreter gets Rohan drunk and steals all his valuable things, except for the bag, leaving him wandering alone. Fortunately, he finds an umbrella and a firelighter to shield himself from the rain. Rohan finds a hotel but is unable to pay for any room. It is then that a man shows interest in Rohan's recently found umbrella, offering the exact value of the bills Rohan made the bag vanish for it. Rohan then comes to the conclusion that the bag had a Stand bound to it, with the ability to take away valuable items but giving back their equivalent during misfortune, but laments that he had the bag fixed and now can't make use of the Stand anymore.
Millionaire Village
Rohan and a manga editor by the name of Kyoka Izumi go to investigate a hidden village located in the mountains for his new one-shot at her suggestion. Initially believing it to be related to the mountains he previously bought, Rohan agrees after Izumi tells him how every resident in there became rich at the age of 25. Izumi plans to buy a house in there, as she now is 25 too. They are greeted by the butler Ikkyu, who tests them about good manners. After Izumi fails the test, Rohan discovers that a bird he found earlier had died, while Izumi's mother and fiancee died in a car crash. Rohan becomes suspicious and uses Heaven's Door on Ikkyu to discover the mystery behind the village and trick Ikkyu to break a rule by writing on him. The village was under a curse that gave things to anyone who showed good manners, while those who didn't lose things. Ikkyu claims that this time Rohan broke a rule, as he hadn't given permission to be turned into a book, and Izumi starts to have a heart attack. Rohan begs for another test to save Izumi and is successful in it, all the while making Ikkyu break a rule (as he wrote earlier). Ikkyu says Rohan cheated and asks for another test, but Rohan denies it and carries Izumi away from the village. He notices the bird also returned to good health.
A Rainy Monday
Rohan, after playing a optical illusion with a chicken leg, tells a story about a event he personally experienced at a train station. Rohan is on the phone discussing with a unknown person (presumably his editor) to meet at S-city to discuss his manuscript when someone on their phone bumps into him and trips. Rohan helps them up and then continues his phone call only to get bumped by another person on their phone, who happened to be a fan of his work. After they leave, a old woman who is also on their phone nearly bumps into Rohan, but he moves out of the way in time and she trips and falls on her own. After this more and more people accidently ram themselves into Rohan, all of whom are distracted on their phone, and as Rohan looks around the station he notices that just about everyone is distracted on their phone, paying little attention to their surroundings. The mangaka is nearly bumped into a large obese man, but Rohan manages to draw their attention from their phone and stops them from walking into him, and he begins to lecture the man before a woman knocks him over into the train tracks using her baby carriage, who was also distracted by her phone. With trains coming from both directions the obese man attempts to pull Rohan up from the train tracks, but Rohan doesn't trust him and thinks that he is under attack. The obese man then also gets knocked onto the train tracks thanks to distracted people knocking him off. Rohan quickly uses Heavens Door on the man, but doesn't find anything that shows him as a enemy, but does tell Rohan that the man has chronic heart disease. The man tells Rohan about how he also has had many people bumped into him that day, and that it has gotten much worse at the train station. As more people try to lift them up from the train station, more and more people got knocked off and fell on the train station. A ridiculous amount of people fell onto the train tracks, and Rohan realized the problem: he realizes that all of these people have been gathering around the obese man, and then Rohan sees some sort of creature emerge from many of the cell phones. It is explained that it is a bug that lives inside electronics and feed off of electromagnetic waves, as well as animals with weak hearts, like the obese man. The man is the sole death of the incident, which is stopped by Rohan commanding on of the men nearby to drive a truck onto the railroad crossing, stopping the train. As Rohan leaves he is forced to cancel the meeting but notes that on the bright side he has a idea for what to write for his manuscript.
The Run
Rohan, bearing a cast and a broken hand, shows deep regret for foolish actions he did to break his hand, and begins to tell the story of how it came to be. We are told the story of Yoma Hashimoto, who was scouted by a model production company. As he worked out more and more at the gym and in his girlfriends apartment to attain perfect physical condition for modeling, his personal life degraded, especially with his girlfriend, and his temper became very short, such as becoming angered at a deliveryman ringing the doorbell three times. While at the gym, his personal trainer didn't spend much time with him since he was preoccupied with training someone else. He secretly took large sums of money out of his girlfriends debt card, and even installed small artificial rocks all over not only the apartment but the entire apartment building for bouldering. That incident caused her to break up with him and kick him out. Rohan, who also worked out at the same gym, challenged Yoma to a contest. In the gym, there are two treadmills, that gradually speed up to 25 KM/H, their maximum speed. The remote stops one of the treadmills. The challenge part is getting the remote first and stopping your treadmill once they reach 25 KM/H. It is revealed that Rohan and Yoma have done this once before, with the mangaka securing a victory. As they begin again, Yoma takes off his jacket, revealing his perfect physique which has Rohan floored. As they ran, parts of Yomas muscles formed the shape of wings, which resemble those of the Greek God Hermes. At the 20 KM/H mark, Yoma turns around and starts running backwards, grabs a dumbbell, and throws it forward, destroying the window of glass that was behind them as they ran, revealing that the gym is very high up and that whoever falls down would surely die. Rohan attempts to grab the remote, but due to the treadmills only moving at 23 KM/H, Yoma quickly grabs his hand and crushes it, breaking his hand except for two fingers Yoma left intact so Rohan could still press the button on the remote. Rohan uses Heavens Door on Yoma, but it only gets his hand so the challenge continues. It is revealed that Yoma has killed his girlfriend, the delivery man, and the person who Yomas trainer was occupied training, causing him to neglect training him. Both of the treadmills reach 25 KM/H, and both make a dive for the remote, with Yoma winning, but Rohan wrote a command onto Yoma with Heavens Door, forcing him to use the remote on Rohans treadmill, causing Yoma to fall off his and go flying out the broken window and off the building. Rohan, speechless, knows not to look out the window, for he knows that Yoma would see that as him looking down on him, and he would surely kill him. Rohan concludes that he needs to leave the area right now, and notes that Yoma has become avatar of the God Hermes, which is what his muscles turning into wing symbols symbolizes. Rohan ends with that thought, and starts the run away from that place.
At a Confessional
The mangaka heard a horror story from a mysterious sinner confession. As he is visiting Italy, Rohan decides to research the churches, especially for their architecture and spiritual background. He walks into a confession booth to research the interior, but mistakenly walks into the side reserved for the priest. Shortly after, a man walks into the other side of the booth and confesses his sin to Rohan, believing him to be the priest. Rohan hears his confession anyway, interested in getting information out of the man's horror story. The man tells he has been cursed by the spirit of a beggar he had been responsible for the death of, who swore that they would come to take him at his happiest moment. After telling the story, where the man continues to explain his sins and why he was still alive after apparently killed by the spirit, it is revealed that he had found a servant who was willing to do anything for him, and used plastic surgery to alter both his and the servant's appearances, thereby fooling the beggar into dogging the servant instead. The spirits of the beggar and the beheaded servant then dog the man, and both vow to watch him around the clock to make sure that he does not do anything suspicious again. Rohan watches on with curiosity, deciding to interview him later if given the chance, as he didn't know what happened to the man after that.
JORGE JOESTAR
Rohan appears in Chapter 4 of the novel where it is revealed that he had bought the Arrow Cross House, which was a central plot line to the novel in which multiple people from Diavolo, Kosaku Kawajiri and Tsukumojuku Kato all show up murdered. He assists Joji in solving the murder of Tsukumojuku and more. After Giorno defeats Enrico Pucci and his Stand, Made in Heaven, with the use of Gold Experience Requiem, Rohan discovers that Giorno was actually a flesh zombie of Antonio Torres, through use of his Stand Heaven's Door.
Relationships
Acquaintances
Despite loving his manga more than anything else, even over friends and family, Rohan still maintains relationships with the protagonists. Most if not all of those are strained.
- Koichi Hirose: Koichi was one of the first people Rohan met upon his return to Morioh. Despite trapping Koichi and using him for new manga ideas, Rohan shows more trust and friendship towards Koichi than the rest of Morioh's inhabitants. While Koichi is often perturbed by Rohan's near-obsessive behavior over him, he also has attempted to help Rohan in return. Koichi tolerated less and less the worst sides of Rohan's arrogance as he gained confidence and he was overall a positive influence on Rohan's attitude. At the end of Diamond is Unbreakable, one reproachful look from Koichi was enough for Rohan to yield and confess an attachment to Reimi Sugimoto.
- Reimi Sugimoto: Reimi was a babysitter for Rohan when he was four years old. As a ghost, Reimi still treats Rohan as though he were a child. While he often acts resentful towards her treatment of him, he also shows unceasing determination to find her killer, as Reimi had sacrificed herself to save Rohan's life as a child.
- Josuke Higashikata: Josuke and Rohan loathe each other, with their relationship being strained at best. This first started when Rohan kidnapped Koichi to use as material and nearly had Okuyasu commit suicide. Rohan also insulted Josuke's hair, causing Josuke to beat him until he was in the hospital for a month. Rohan views Josuke as simple-minded, and Josuke is often annoyed by Rohan's arrogance. As a result, Josuke was not above scamming Rohan for money. However, Josuke has tried on at least two occasions to patch up the relationship between the two. During the RPS Kid arc, he asked Rohan if he wanted to sit with him, Okuyasu, and Yukako. He also hoped to patch up their relationship after their battle against Highway Star, though Rohan's stubbornness and grudge prevented this. Despite their sharply contrasting personalities and rough history together, Rohan shows trust in Josuke, proven when risking his own life to allow Josuke to escape from Highway Star, and the fact he restrains some hostility on the knowledge that he's Joseph Joestar's son, a person he values deeply. In the OVAs, while Rohan is still portrayed as being somewhat aggressive, he appears to be more comfortable with Josuke, willing to eat lunch and chat with him. However, the details of their relationship are yet to be revealed.
- Jotaro Kujo: Rohan seems to regard Jotaro as knowledgeable, and Jotaro trusts Rohan despite being a former enemy.
- Okuyasu Nijimura: They only truly interact once, when Okuyasu goes to save Koichi from Rohan. Rohan used Heaven's Door to manipulate Okuyasu, nearly causing him to commit suicide by burning himself. While the two aren't seen together afterwards, it is safe to say they don't have a good relationship since Okuyasu holds a grudge against Rohan for what he did while Rohan is mostly indifferent to Okuyasu. In the OVAs, he is shown spending his free time with him and the others.
- Joseph Joestar: Unlike with most people, he is polite to Joseph, possibly since Joseph is his elder (and often refers to him as Joestar-san or Mr. Joestar). Joseph has been shown to be a fan of Rohan's works, something Rohan appreciates. He usually speaks calmly to Joseph, such as when he explains his investigation in uncovering Kira's whereabouts. He even states one of the main reasons he tolerates Josuke is out of respect for Mr. Joestar, further demonstrating his respect for him.
- Nanase Kishibe: Rohan first meets her Nanase as "Nanase Fujikura" during his teenage years. Attracted to her, Rohan mentions that his relationship was in effect a first love to him. Indeed, he was noticeably less abrasive in her presence and even showed some protective instincts. However, Nanase fled away before things could evolve in a meaningful way. It is only later that Rohan learns that Nanase is his ancestor.
- Tonio Trussardi: Although both characters do not interact in the manga, they are featured in Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 6: Poaching Seashore as allies. In the one-shot, Tonio and Rohan are friends, even though Rohan disapproved of Tonio coming to Morioh in order to cook. Rohan changed his mind after eating Tonio's abalone risotto, and the two cooperated to go poaching for a rare type of abalones. During their escapade, Rohan risked his own safety to save Tonio's life. Throughout, they refer to each other with respectable titles, Tonio calling Rohan "sensei" and being referred to as "san". Rohan also appears to care for Tonio's happiness, choosing to bite his question upon seeing him with his lover, Virginia, and smiling to himself.
- Yukako Yamagishi: While the two have no interaction, Rohan learned about her after reading Koichi's memories using Heaven's Door. When Josuke asks if Rohan wants to sit with him, Okuyasu and Yukako, he declines while referring to Yukako as a crazy bitch (or the moody Yukako depending on translations). In Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 8: Deoxyribonucleic Acid, Yukako requests Rohan to fix the abnormalities the daughter of Mai, one of her mothers friends, possessed who was a young child named Mao. Rohan declines to fix her and is incredibly rude during the meeting, straining his relationship to Yukako. In the end, however, they made up due to events that occurred relating to Mai and Mao after their meeting.
- Shizuka Joestar: The two have little interaction though Rohan once scared her by using the flash on his camera. On another occasion, Rohan used her invisibility powers to force Ken's hand into a rock in Janken, causing Ken to lose against Rohan. He seems to care for her, as he became worried when he lost her and helped Joseph and Josuke look for her.
- Hayato Kawajiri: Rohan noticed that Hayato was in the background of many of the pictures he took of people who were possibly Kira in disguise and tailed him. He tried to get information out of him, though Hayato refused, knowing that telling him anything would activate Bites the Dust and kill Rohan. Rohan did eventually get killed by Bites the Dust since he used Heaven's Door to read Hayato's memories, much to Hayato's horror. Luckily, his fate is avoided thanks to Josuke.
- Toshikazu Hazamada: Toshikazu was a huge fan of Rohan who accidentally learned about his address and decided to visit the mangaka himself. He was impressed by Rohan and stated he truly admired him from the bottom of his heart even after Rohan used Heaven's Door on him. In contrast, Rohan read through Toshikazu's memories and learned of his sordid personality and actions and frankly dismissed him, much to Toshikazu's sadness.
- Tamami Kobayashi: The two worked together in the I Am an Alien arc to expose Josuke's cheating during a game of Cee-lo between Josuke and Rohan where it was obvious the dice they used were somehow rigged to let Josuke win (it was Mikitaka disguised as dice and constantly throwing winning tosses for Josuke). Although they were not able to find out how Josuke cheated, Tamami still charged Rohan for his services. However, in Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 2: Mutsu-kabe Hill, he is shown to be a fan of Rohan and asks for his autograph, which is a stark contrast to their more professional relationship during their first on-screen meeting.
- Akira Otoishi: Otoishi meets Rohan with Tamami after he is released from prison and excitedly asks for Rohan's autograph, claiming to be a big fan of his. Rohan's editor Minoru Kagamari harshly denies, saying that Rohan is busy, but Rohan scolds his editor and gives the two of them an autograph.
Enemies
- Yoshikage Kira: While initially only interested in chasing down the serial killer in order to improve the quality of his manga, Rohan takes Kira much more seriously after learning that the man had killed his childhood babysitter. Evidently, all of Rohan's attempts at tracking Kira down have been done alone, with limited help from his allies.
- Ken Oyanagi: Ken initially annoyed Rohan greatly when they first met by challenging him multiple times to Janken (Rock, Paper, Scissors). Because of this, Rohan felt little remorse for making him upset, eventually reaching the point of spontaneously punching him in the face out of irritation. When Rohan learned that Ken was actually attempting to steal Heaven's Door's ability in order to gain power, he acted diligently to beat him, and happily gloated in his victory. Rohan had a change of attitude after seeing Ken attempt suicide over the thought of losing his own Stand, claiming that he is moved whenever he sees people whom are dramatic like him.
- Yuya Fungami/Highway Star: Though Rohan did not meet Yuya personally, he ended up a victim of his Stand. Rohan was shown to have enjoyed defying Highway Star, despite being completely at its mercy.
- Masazo Kinoto: The architect was hired to inspect Rohan's house after it was burned in order to agree on a rebuilding plan. Upon their meeting, Rohan immediately used Heaven's Door in order to check if he was an enemy Stand user. Learning of Masazo's abnormal fear of having his back seen piqued his curiosity. During the inspection, Rohan tried time and time again to look at Masazo's back, and was eventually successful. This was the cause of Masazo's death, as his own Stand drained his life force and latched onto Rohan.
- Cheap Trick: The Stand was an immediate threat to Rohan once it attached to him, making constant attempts to get other people to see his back in order to kill him. When he was able to remove the Stand via Reimi's Alley, he uses Heaven's Door to write in it "I'm going to Hell" before it gets dragged off into the unknown.
Chapters / Episodes
Gallery
Illustrations
Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
Games
Figurines
Other
Misc.
Relationships in Eyes of Heaven
(The information below derives from a Video Game not written by Araki. As such, it may not be considered canon.)
- Yukako Yamagishi: In Story Mode, Rohan is unnerved by Yukako's violent tendencies and will state that there is no difference when she is brainwashed by Heaven Ascension DIO. In Free Battle Mode, Yukako is annoyed by Rohan's teasing of Koichi and threatens him.
In Video Games
Jump Ultimate Stars (DS Game)
Rohan appears as a 1-Koma character (which provides immunity from the Battle and Support Seal status effects) and as a menu explanatory character, representing the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise. This is also his first appearance in any game media.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle
Rohan makes his first playable appearance in the PS3 title. As one of the mass majority of playable characters in the game with the "Stand" Style, Rohan can turn Heaven's Door on/off, changing movesets, as well as having access to the Stand Rush ability returning from the Capcom game, being able to attack in conjunction with his Stand.
As Heaven's Door has never been shown engaging in physical combat, most of Rohan's fighting ability makes use of Heaven's Door's power or his own art equipment. Exclusive to Rohan is the ability to use "Seals", which lock off certain types of attacks and skills from the opponent for five counts of the battle timer, making them flinch every time they attempt to use a locked off skill and giving Rohan an opening to attack. However, if Rohan is hit at all, every lock will be instantly nullified.
- Throw - Rock, I win!: Rohan pushes the opponent off-balance and delivers a swift punch that knocks them down as he points at them.
While Heaven's Door is off:
- Safety Lock: In place of normal attacks, Rohan draws Heaven's Door's silhouette in the air with his finger. If the opponent touches it, one of their normal attacks is sealed. The normal attack sealed corresponds directly to the attack button inputted to produce this move. This move can also be used on a downed opponent. (Comboable through Puttsun Cancel)
- What would I do if I were a manga hero?: Rohan throws a number of pen tips as projectiles. (Comboable through Puttsun Cancel)
- I must keep drawing!: Rohan, paintbrush in hand, swings upward, knocking the opponent off their feet and onto the ground. This move can only be interrupted by Throws or HHA/GHA, and doubles as an anti-air. (Comboable through Puttsun Cancel)
- Your abilities are spent!: A Throw. Rohan extends his hand to grab the opponent. If it connects, he will pick the opponent up by their collar and swiftly write on their face with a paintbrush, before pushing them away and onto the floor. This seals abilities pertaining to the opponent's Style and the Style Button;
- Ripple Users cannot use "Ripple Breath", nor enhance their skills.
- Dio Brando cannot use "I'll suck you dry!"; While he technically cannot use "You weakling!" and "MUDA, MUDA, MUDA!" as well, these require preceding attacks to land in order to unleash. At the point where Dio would be able to use those skills, his seal would have already been nullified by the other moves in question.
- The Pillar Men cannot activate their respective Modes.
- Stand Users cannot summon their Stands.
- Mounted Style Users cannot call for their horses.
- You dare insult ME, cretin?!: A special taunt. If the opponent has successfully taunted Rohan while he's down, he can input his own taunt immediately afterward to regain not only his lost HHG, but gain bonus HHG at the cost of potentially leaving himself vulnerable on recovery.
While Heaven's Door is on:
- I'll be the first to strike!: A Throw. After a short delay, Rohan sends Heaven's Door to attack the opponent. If Heaven's Door touches them, the opponent will be stunned and left vulnerable to attack. (Comboable)
- I'm on the rise!: Heaven's Door rushes forward in a flurry of punches. This move has two follow-up attacks. (Comboable through Puttsun Cancel)
- Knocked back at 70 km/h!: Heaven's Door writes into the opponent "I will fly backwards at 70km/h", sending them into the stage wall.
- Time for you to be retired!: Heaven's Door takes material out of the opponent, stealing some of their HHG and knocking them to the ground.
Rohan's HHA, "Your reality is mine!", has him send Heaven's Door fly at the opponent. If it hits, Heaven's Door turns a section of their face into 'material'. Rohan then quickly walks up to them, rips a piece out, and guffaws. The HHA seals all of the opponent's skills, leaving them with just their normal attacks.
Rohan's GHA, simply named "Heaven's Door", sends Heaven's Door to fly a short distance. If it hits the opponent, they are knocked onto the ground sitting, before their entire face is turned into material. Rohan walks up to the vulnerable opponent and writes on the material to generate a safety lock. When he finishes, it shows that Rohan wrote "I cannot attack Rohan Kishibe" on the margin, and he proceeds to palm the opponent's face closed, sending them flying. This GHA, despite doing the second least amount of damage of all the GHAs (behind the GHA of "Kosaku Kawajiri"), completely seals all of the opponent's normal attacks, skills, moves, and abilities pertaining to their Style. This means that the opponent is able to only defend themselves for five counts of the battle timer with no possible way to attack or directly damage Rohan.
Rohan is a low-damage fighter, relying on his seals and ability to rapidly build the Heart Heat Gauge in order to effectively battle. Having attacks at all ranges and many opportunities to use HHG-consuming actions (HHA, GHA, Stand Rush, and Puttsun Cancels) more frequently makes up for Rohan's sub-par damage output. Rohan can force his opponent into a defensive playstyle with a combination of the right type of seals and attacks, but can be properly countered with characters that are not as hindered by certain seals than others.
Amongst many other notable costumes in the game, one of Rohan's unlockable costumes is his outfit from Under Execution Under Jailbreak.
His knocked down animation has him move his pen on the floor which is a reference to him writing notes after being pummeled by Josuke after hearing about his hairstyle's backstory when introduced as an antagonist.
Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Rohan was confirmed for the game alongside Okuyasu and "Kosaku".
Like in All Star Battle, Rohan compensates his mediocre damage output and combo ability with the powerful ability to lock off attacks.
As a Stand User, Rohan is one of many characters with wildly varied abilities that grant him uniqueness in battle. Opponents hit by Rohan's skills will be Sealed, and will have their abilities locked off accordingly until either enough time has passed or Rohan is hard knocked down.
- Style Action - Safety Lock: Rohan draws Heaven's Door's silhouette in the air with his finger as a trap. If an opponent touches it, their Normal Attacks, Powerful Attacks, and Homing Dashes will be Sealed. Holding down the input will charge the skill, eventually allowing it to seal an opponent's Style Action, then ability to interact with stage objects. When used in midair, Rohan is unable to charge and enhance it. This ability can be canceled out of with a Normal Attack, Powerful Attack, and Homing Dash. Despite Rohan creating air drawings, the Safety Locks are tangible, and can cancel out and be canceled out by projectiles. Though not specified by the game, Rohan can trap stage objects with Safety Locks when interacting with them.
- I'll be the first to strike!: Rohan sends Heaven's Door forward to attack, and if it connects, the target is knocked off their feet. This skill Seals off all skills, Flash Cancels, and Flash Bursts.
- Knocked back at 70 km/h!: Heaven's Door rushes forward in a flurry of punches, following the attack up by writing into opponents "I will fly backwards at 70km/h", and sending them flying a great distance away.
- I think I'll put you out of commission.: Heaven's Door rushes forward in a flurry of punches, following the attack up with an unblockable grab that steals material from opponents and leaves them crumpling and open to further attack. This skill seals off the ability to use Dual Combos and DHAs as well as Flash Bursts, and freezes the Dual Heat Gauge.
- You dare insult ME, cretin?!: Rohan stops to taunt, and if he is not interrupted, he temporarily increases the duration of inflicted Sealed effects for a period of time afterward. The effect does not apply to Seals already active when he executes the skill.
- EX - I'll be the first to strike!: The skill executes quicker, gains a boost to range and damage, and the duration of the inflicted Seal is increased.
- EX - I think I'll put you out of commission.: Rohan is invincible until the attack begins, and the duration of the inflicted Seal is increased.
JoJolities
- Time to open the door of your heart.: Rohan must use a fully charged Style Action. (200 Points)
- You dare insult ME, cretin?!: Rohan must use "You dare insult ME, cretin?!" (200 Points)
- If I were the hero of a manga story, what would I do here?: Rohan must land the basic Powerful Attack 3 times. (300 Points)
- A bit quick, huh?: Rohan must land a Takedown 3 times. (500 Points)
- Shut up! Just try me!: Rohan must survive the first 30 counts of the battle timer without taking damage. (800 Points)
Dual Heat Attacks
- Solo - Heaven's Door: Rohan uses Heaven's Door to knock the opponent onto the ground sitting, opening their entire face into material. Rohan, reading the pages, is left awestruck by the contents. Claiming the pages for himself, he swiftly and violently rips a handful of them out, sending the opponent flying. Like his GHA from All Star Battle, it does below-average damage but has the immensely powerful effect of Sealing all of the opponent's abilities short of basic movement and platforming for a period of time, leaving them completely unable to fend for themselves.
- With Josuke - I really hate this guy...: Rohan uses Heaven's Door to write within the opponent "My body will fly forwards at 70 km/hr." as he begins to tell Josuke something; revealing soon after that he hates him. The opponent is sent flying at Josuke in an attempt to cause a collision, forcing him to use Crazy Diamond to pummel them away.
- With Koichi - We're best friends!: Koichi uses 3 Freeze to make the opponent heavier, before Rohan uses Heaven's Door to write in the opponent "My weight will increase 10-fold.", combining the effects and multiplying their weight to such a degree that it causes them to slam face-first and sink into the ground with enough force to generate a crater.
Tournament
He is paired with Jean Pierre Polnareff in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament, but was eliminated in the preliminaries by Giorno Giovanna and Guido Mista.
Diamond Records (Android/iOS)
Rohan appears in Diamond Records as both a playable character and the player's guide, explaining the game's mechanics and modes.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor
Rohan was one of the characters first confirmed during the game's announcement.
Trivia
- Rohan's valued possessions include Sailor MoonW figures, Led Zeppelin paper sleeves, and the Rurouni KenshinW series.[28]
- Despite Rohan being modeled after him,[29] Araki has stated that the two of them are not the same personality-wise. He does admit however, after being asked if he would lick a spider like Rohan, that he would eat really strange things if asked to, and that he really enjoys drawing skin peeling, which is the premise behind Heaven's Door.[30]
- In a "Tameike Now" interview with Shoko Nakagawa, Araki mentions that if he were to have any Stand ability from his series, it would be Heaven's Door.[31]
- Rohan's Latin Spanish voice actor both in the OVA and the Anime, also voices Jotaro Kujo.
- Rohan is currently the only character to have an identical counterpart across the Jojo universes.
References
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